


Promise

by FrancisDuFresne



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: F/M, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Time (Linked Universe) Angst, Time (Linked Universe) Needs a Hug, Time (Linked Universe)-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-29 03:20:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrancisDuFresne/pseuds/FrancisDuFresne
Summary: Link, the Hero of Time, and Malon are married, enjoying their quiet life together. Then they hear a knock on the door.
Relationships: Link/Malon (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 44





	Promise

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!_

“Hm?” Link’s long, pointed ears pricked up. He paused folding the clean trousers in his hands.

“Are you expecting someone?” Malon asked, looking up from her book.

“No, are you?”

“No.”

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!_

“Well, I’d better get it,” Link concluded, then raised his voice to call, “Coming!”

He put down the laundry, walked across their living room, and opened the front door. Malon watched curiously from the sofa as her husband spoke with whoever was outside. She couldn’t make out their words. It wasn’t a minute before Link closed the door. He crossed the room and sat down on the rocking chair opposite his wife. He was holding a cream-colored envelope.

“Who was it?” Malon asked.

Link’s posture was unusually stiff. “The King’s royal messenger.”

Malon’s eyes widened. She set down her book on the cushion beside her, not bothering to put it page-down to keep her place. Her voice was quiet when she asked, “doesn’t the postman usually carry letters from the King?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“But the last time the royal messenger came…” she trailed off.

He closed his one good eye a little longer than a standard blink, using the temporary darkness to try and remember what it was like to have two good eyes. He sighed again. “Yes.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. “…Link?” she broke the silence hesitantly.

She waited for a reply. None came. He was staring at the envelope.

“Link,” she repeated. “You have to open it.”

He looked up at the woman he loved more than anything in the world. The late afternoon sunlight pouring through the window illuminated his face. It told her a story of sadness and fear. Despite having the body of a thirty-something, he simultaneously gave the impression of a scared child and a broken old man. “Could you, please?”

“Of course, hon,” she answered softly, smiling to hide her heartache.

Malon reached over the coffee table to take the envelope from Link’s outstretched hand. She turned it over. An elaborate seal of purple wax was the only thing protecting them from what they both feared it contained. She took a deep breath before breaking the seal. The gentle _crack_ of the wax was deafening.

She gingerly withdrew the letter and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the parchment. Link watched helplessly as she gasped sharply, one hand shooting up to cover her mouth. Tears pooled at her eyelids before trickling down her cheeks and onto her fingers. That could only mean one thing. Link felt an anvil drop in his stomach.

He got up from the rocking chair and moved to sit beside his wife. He had barely put his arm around her shoulders before she collapsed into tears. She clutched him tightly, crying into his chest. He held her close. His own tears came a second later.

The King’s message had fallen to the floor. Through his tears, Link could just make out the words “ _kingdom… war… serve… march… best speed…”_ So, it was true. He buried his face in the nook of Malon’s shoulder and neck.

“Goddesses…” Malon cried between sobs, “not again… not now…”

Link moved one hand down to touch Malon’s swollen belly. He swore he felt a kick, which only made him sob harder. They stayed there on the sofa, holding each other, until long after twilight fell.

…

Malon woke up the next morning to find Link's side of the bed empty. She looked around the bedroom. The sword that Link hung on the wall by the door was missing. The chest below the window which he used to store his armor was open. The drawers of the bureau that he kept his clothes in were only partially closed.

She swung her legs over her side of the bed. The wooden floor was cold against her bare feet. She stood and walked over to the chest. It was empty. The sound of metal scraping against metal floated in through the door. It had been left ajar. She felt the urge to cry, but no tears came.

Link had just finished fastening his sword and shield to the baldric hanging across his breastplate when he heard the bedroom door creak open. He turned. Malon was standing there in the doorway, watching him with the deepest sadness he had ever seen on her face.

They both crossed the room, meeting each other in the middle. They hugged. Malon silently wished that Link had waited to put his armor on; she wanted to feel his body, his warmth. All she got was cold, unfeeling iron.

The married couple loosened their embrace just enough to see each other properly. All three of their eyes were red and puffy from crying the night before. Malon lifted her hand to stroke Link’s cheek. He leaned his head into it, then raised his own hand to brush her long, red hair out of her face. He let out a small chuckle.

Seeing the confusion on her face just made him laugh more.

“What’s so funny?” she asked indignantly.

“Your bedhead is cute,” he admitted.

Malon’s expression softened, and she laughed a little, too. Their laughs settled down into warm smiles. They stayed like that a moment, drinking in each other’s faces.

The reality of the situation sank in again. “I don’t want to go,” Link said, just barely above a whisper. His voice cracked on the last word.

“I don’t either,” Malon whispered back, “but we both know you have to.”

“I know.”

“You won’t just be protecting Hyrule, you’ll be protecting your family.”

Link smiled at that. _Family, huh?_ he thought to himself. _That’s a new one_.

“And someday,” he began, glancing downward. “they’ll have families of their own to protect, too.”

“Goddesses willing, they won’t have to.”

“When they’re old enough, I’ll teach them how to fight. I’ll teach them everything I know, so they can keep their loved ones safe.”

Concern played over Malon’s face.

“Just in case,” Link assured her with a tiny grin.

“Just in case,” she repeated, returning the grin.

“And in the meantime, sing them the most beautiful lullabies you can think of.”

“I wouldn’t dream otherwise.”

A beat.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They pulled each other in for a kiss. After what could have been a lifetime or no time at all, their lips parted.

“Please come home safe.”

“I will.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

…

The Hero of Time never was one for breaking promises. War is cruel, however, and it will break any promise it so pleases.


End file.
